It could not get closer than this! The Maharaja Sir Harisinghji Trophy (Grade 3) had a small field of five in the fray. That it would be a close fight, was an expected theory as none of the five seemed to have a towering effect over another. The market trends too were fluctuating as Onassis saw an upward drift, crossing the ‘even-money’ mark after opening at 6/10 at ante post. Mr Greedy and Sprint Star were the other two in the betting ring but were available at nourishing odds. Misschevious Trot and White Knight were practically friendless. They jumped out to a sedate start and White Knight eased into the lead setting a friendly pace initially, followed by Misschevious Trot, Sprint Star, Mr Greedy and Onassis in that order.

Misschevious Trot got past White Knight soon on turning for home. Sprint Star switched to the outside and started to gather good momentum. Mr Greedy was the first casualty, unable to raise his known gallop. Onassis too found it too hot and never raised any hope. Both the prime fancies petered out and looked beat even before the final furlong. Sprint Star came up with a spirited run and as he began to mount his challenge, it appeared that he might have it easy, but Misschevious Trot thought otherwise and put up a stiff resistance. The pair went stride for stride and hit the wire at precisely the same juncture landing the first dead-heat of the season for the first place.

It was a very exciting finish and the patrons were divided in their opinion as to the outcome of the photo-finish called by the judge. Judges Anthony Mendes and George Faria took their time and finding nothing to separate the two horses involved, declared it a dead-heat. Trainer Imtiaz Sait was jubilant with Misschevious Trot’s success. “True to his name, Misschevious Trot was indeed mischievous as a youngster. He once hurt himself badly in his early days and had to undergo a major surgery. He, however, bounced back and surely nurses a big heart. He has been consistent all through and I am very much pleased with his latest success. He has been doing well in the top-class company and I pitched him in the graded race and as the field was small, I was optimistic that he would make a fight of it. He was well-weighted on the terms of the race and honestly, I am not surprised with the result although he had few backers.

Beating the likes of seasoned horses such as Onassis and Mr Greedy is not easy and he has proved to be a top-class miler,” said Imtiaz. Imtiaz Sait had a truly memorable day sending out four winners in all including Misschevious Trot. He started off with a well-compiled victory with his ward Esmeraldo (Emerald Cat – Splendid), a six-furlong sprint for Maiden three-year-olds. Esmeraldo got straight down to business and led the field with the two other horses in the betting – Special FX and Follow The Dream in close attendance. The heat was turned on early in the straight, when Special FX challenged Esmeraldo past the 400 m mark. Follow The Dream tried hard to match strides with the pair but made little headway. The rest never raised any notable finishing effort. Esmeraldo and Special FX fought out stride for stride and Special FX did head Esmeraldo for a brief moment.

However, Esmeraldo with Suraj Narredu riding with aplomb, bounded forward towards the finish to spare ¾ lengths at the post. Special FX ended a good second considering this was his debut run. Follow The Dream failed to make an impact ending a tame third. Venus Rosewater (Senure – Zealous Cat) pulled off a facile victory as hot favourite Beyond Stars broke a blood vessel and packed up even before the turn. Running Sun led them into the straight and soon surrendered to Halo Of Fame.

No sooner had Halo Of Fame taken charge, Venus Rosewater came alongside with giant strides and within split seconds zipped past to romp home to a runaway victory. Venus Rosewater gained tremendous momentum and won as she liked without any semblance of fight from any rival. Imtiaz stretched his winning tally to four with Dancing Dame (Glory of Dancer – Ippodamia) and this one was spectacular considering the huge lead Marudhara Ratan had established in the straight. As they entered the homestretch, Marudhara Ratan, who led the field right from the start, increased his lead to over eight lengths and was just off the bridle. Dancing Dame had to improve position from the mid-bunch and get to one behind the leader.

Dancing Dame, with Sandesh astride, started to bridge the gap with sensational ease. Even though Marudhara Ratan was over five lengths ahead with less than 300 to travel, Dancing Dame looked the winner with her sheer speed of covering ground. She sailed past the leader and strode away to an emphatic victory by nearly seven lengths! Distant Promise too came with a strong finish but just failed to collar Marudhara Ratan. The Wadhawan camp won two races and both their horses saw the odds going up before being backed down closer to race time. Highland Flame (Glory Of Dancer – Killarney), whose odds drifted to 13/4 from 17/10 ante post, was tailing the crowded front-bunch comprising Daffodils, Scenic Silver, Glorious Miss, Hammerhead and Sea Bucaneer. Daffodils, who also had a strong contingent of support in the ring, came in home first but her lead was slender.

Soon Sea Bucaneer moved out and challenged Daffodils. Suraj Narredu was quick to spot a gap through the rails and seized the opportunity in a trice. Sea Bucaneer too looked good on the outer side of Daffodils and the trio were abreast at the distance post. In the final furlong, Highland Flame pulled away stylishly to easily sew up the race with ownermate Sea Bucaneer ending a good second ahead of Daffodils. Sea Warrior ran on from behind to end a decent fourth. Star Vision (Warrshan – Anodyne) too saw an alarming drift from 12/10 ante post to nearly 3/1 at race time. That hardly proved ominous, as Star Vision won with a measure of comfort. Flashing Sword was the quick one out to lead the field with Smooth Operator, Nou Camp, Wild Imagination in close behind.

Star Vision came next and had Royal Prince for company as they headed for the curve. Nou Camp got past Flashing Sword coming into the straight and soon Star Vision started to gallop strongly, leaving behind Flashing Sword and Smooth Operator. Nou Camp was soon overpowered as Star Vision stormed past in the last furlong and pulled away to score impressively. Dashrath Singh replaced Suraj Narredu on Star Vision as the latter reported unwell after his victory astride Sprint Star. Good Looking (Tirol – Hafitha) was surely looking good in the paddock and seemed much better tuned for the occasion. She showed marked improvement this time and made rapid progress from a close fifth position to second coming into the straight. Pronto Star had just taken charge from Glowing Mist and Xenia and before he could quicken to make a race of it, Good Looking was looming large on the outside.

A minor tussle followed for a stride or two, but Good Looking was certainly shaping better and duly notched up her maiden victory in a fashionable manner. Pronto Star ran a prominent second and will live to fight another day. Lazor Razor came from way back to finish in the money. Taanush (Tirol – Progressing) made his first serious attempt count as he fought bravely to edge out Cougar in a thriller in the first race of the day. Cougar took charge on turning for home and soon Taanush came on the scene. Equality, who was right with them, could not rise to the occasion and went down tamely. Femenist made some progress coming in from the rear and did well enough to merit place stakes.

The final furlong was confined to a gripping battle between Cougar and Taanush, both going stride for stride leaping towards the wining post. Cougar fought back gallantly after Taanush headed him and took the fight right to the winning post. Taanush just managed to nose out Cougar by a short-head at the wire. Trainer Imtiaz Sait was the pro of the day with four winners while jockeys Suraj Narredu and potential champion Dashrath Singh scored a treble each.